How to configure XFCE to handle keyboard shortcuts\hotkeys on key-release\up, not key-press

desktop-environmentkeyboard shortcutsxfce

While using an application on XFCE, pressing a keyboard shortcut\hotkey that overlaps with an XFCE hotkey, I find the XFCE hotkey effect taking place instead.

For instance, Eclipse IDE has the hotkey: Shift + Alt + S, while XFCE switches the keyboard layout by using the hotkey Shift + Alt.

So when I press Shift + Alt, the keyboard layout changes before I have the chance to complete the hotkey combination and press S.

A colleague suggested that this is because XFCE processes hotkeys when they are pressed, not when they are released.

I do not want to change these shortcuts because I use Windows and Linux all the time and I do not want to confuse my self.

My questions are:

How to configure XFCE to process hotkeys on key release, not on key pressing
Does Enlightenment, Gnome 3, Mate, Cinnamon handle keyboard hotkeys better than XFCE ? Or at least in the way I'm mentioning here, which is on key releasing, not on key presssing.
What other desktop environments handle hotkeys on releasing and not on pressing ?

Best Answer

It's an Xorg bug. Fixed here for Manjaro Linux. I had to follow these steps to manually skip PGP checking !

Related Solutions

Shell – keyboard shortcuts only work with left super-key

Use xmodmap -pm to verify that both keys have the mod4 modifier associated with them.

vikktakkht:686 Z$ xmodmap -pm
xmodmap:  up to 4 keys per modifier, (keycodes in parentheses):

shift       Shift_L (0x32),  Shift_R (0x3e)
lock        Caps_Lock (0x42)
control     Control_L (0x25),  Control_R (0x69)
mod1        Alt_L (0x40),  Alt_R (0x6c),  Meta_L (0xcd)
mod2        Num_Lock (0x4d)
mod3      
mod4        Super_L (0x85),  Super_R (0x86),  Super_L (0xce),  Hyper_L (0xcf)
mod5        ISO_Level3_Shift (0x5c),  Mode_switch (0xcb)

Note that it's not enough that it's named Super_L or Super_R; it's the modifier mapping that matters.

You can use xmodmap to associate keysyms with modifiers, but if your system is at all modern (and not OS X) then it uses Xkb and you probably want to examine your Xkb configuration instead of trying to change it with xmodmap. (Look at setxkbmap and friends, although probably there is a GNOME 3 interface to it that you should use.)

X11 Keyboard Shortcuts Layout Xkb – Shortcut Keys Independent of Keyboard Layout

I often switch between English and Greek layouts and this has been a minor annoyance for a while. Your question pushed me to solve it, so thanks!

I found a program that can do this: xbindkeys. The proceedure I followed (adapted from here) was:

Install xbindkeys. On my Debian this is done with
```
 sudo apt-get install xbindkeys
```

You should also be able to install easily enough with the equivalent yum install or pacman -S or whatever commands.

Create the default settings file:
```
 xbindkeys --defaults > ~/.xbindkeysrc
```
Get the right keycodes for your keys. Run xbindkeys -k and press your desired shortcut. With my keyboard at least (though this should be standard), xbindkeys -k reports that CtrlT is
```
 m:0x14 + c:28
 Control+Mod2 + t
```
Create the relevant shortcut, add these lines to ~/.xbindkeysrc:
```
 "xterm"
  m:0x14 + c:28
```
Run xbindkeys. The shortcut now works even in the Greek layout. To make this permanent, add this to your ~/.Xsession:
```
 xbindkeys
```

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Shell – keyboard shortcuts only work with left super-key

X11 Keyboard Shortcuts Layout Xkb – Shortcut Keys Independent of Keyboard Layout

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